SXSW Preview: Hot Sugar’s Cold World

The new documentary, premiering March 16 at SXSW, follows producer Nick Koenig’s search for sound. Your first look is here.

Nick Koenig is always listening. In his hands, the sound of the wind over a gravestone becomes something like a hook. Underneath each song, you can hear the sample: a dollhouse burning, a girl blowing out candles, the air leaving the room. Koenig’s search for environmental music has taken him around the world and back. Documentary filmmaker Adam Bhala Lough went with him.

Hot Sugar’s Cold World, directed by Adam Bhala Lough and executive produced by David Gordon Green, Jody Hill, and Danny McBride, follows Koenig’s quest to sample and reshape the sonic world that surrounds us. The documentary premieres at SXSW on Monday, March 16th as part of the 24 Beats Per Second music film series. Your first look is here.

Grab the Bundle, and download or stream the world premiere of “All My Friend’s Ashes”; audio excerpted from a climactic scene in the movie, constructed from a sample of silence recorded in a funeral home. Enter your email to unlock an exclusive first look of the film, with video, curated photos, art, and more.

The world around is wild and alive with sound. Koenig never forgets that. It goes without saying that we shouldn’t, either.